The McLean, Virginia startup’s Caspian platform sits as a command layer above existing security stacks, deploying pre-trained AI agents into air-gapped and compliance-restricted environments. One of its co-founders is Nick Pompeo, son of former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Rilian , a McLean, Virginia-based startup building agentic AI systems integration for defence and national security customers, has raised $17.5 million in seed and seed extension funding. The round was led by 8VC, First In, and Tamarack Global, with participation from 8090 Industries, Liquid 2 Ventures, Perot Jain, and Protego Ventures. Funds will go towards go-to-market expansion across the US and Gulf Cooperation Council countries, engineering hiring, and R&D in AI-powered cyber and defence solutions for governments and critical infrastructure operators. The company’s core product is Caspian, an AI-native security orchestration platform that functions as a command layer across an organisation’s entire security stack.…